Prince Philip's 'most unusual' funeral detail went completely under the radar but it would've meant a lot to Queen Elizabeth
The whole point was for it not to be noticed and it meant some pictures from this poignant day were a lot more discreet
Five years after Prince Philip was laid to rest in Windsor we're still learning details about his funeral service that cast the day in a new light. The late Duke of Edinburgh meticulously planned everything himself and one of the most iconic - and heartwrenching - pictures ever taken of the Queen was of her sitting alone in a pew grieving for her husband of 73 years.
However, other pictures were taken in a more "unusual" way and Philip apparently arranged for something that would've probably meant a great deal to the Queen. Royal photographer Arthur Edwards was there that day and captured shots of the couple's children accompanying his coffin into St George's Chapel - though he was cleverly concealed from view.
"From the most unusual vantage point in all my years photographing the royals, I witnessed the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral," he writes in his memoir, Cup of Tea, Arthur?, "Although because of Covid restrictions it was much smaller than expected, the duke had planned his final farewell to the last detail.
Arthur explains, "He had even arranged for a photographer to hide inside a fake pillar at the top of the stairs leading to St George's Chapel, Windsor."
He also recalls the "letter-box-shaped slit" that was "just like the bird-watching hides where Prince Philip spent hours during his retirement at Sandringham". It's not something many of us would've thought about, but Arthur's pictures of the royals walking inside for the service are incredibly close-up and yet wider shots don't show him at all.
The long-time royal photographer was even near enough to see King Charles "fighting back tears" as he walked past. Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the Royal Family would likely have appreciated Philip's choice of a fake pillar to make things more discreet.
Having a photographer obviously stationed at the entrance to the chapel might have been quite distracting for those walking behind his coffin, when they really just want to focus on mourning the Prince. It was also considerate to the Queen, as she would surely not have wanted to be bothered by photographers or for pictures from the day - which would be ingrained in royal history - to feature cameras everywhere.
The 99-year-old Prince had thought of everything and not seeing Arthur would've meant there was no chance of any of the royals looking at him directly.
In his controversial book, Swan Song, Earl Spencer claims that Philip felt looking "directly ahead" would help them in the procession for Princess Diana's funeral.
The late duke also reportedly once advised the Princess of Wales "don't look at the camera" and to follow Queen Elizabeth's approach of only looking at the people she was meeting or talking to. He was acutely aware of this aspect of royal life and the pictures taken at his funeral service feel very respectful and organic.
Those showing Queen Elizabeth sitting alone are particularly powerful and in the moment it was just as moving for her family. Her grandson Peter Phillips told the BBC's Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century documentary earlier this year that "all you wanted to do was go and give her a hug, and you couldn't do it".
